


Planters

by SkyBlueFox



Series: the PMDverse [9]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
Genre: Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky, Gen, POV: Pokemon, Post-Postgame, Talking Pokemon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-18
Updated: 2016-11-18
Packaged: 2018-08-31 16:55:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8586445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyBlueFox/pseuds/SkyBlueFox
Summary: A group of explorers takes a break from dangerous jobs and great adventures to help out a grass type in town. A short, Mystery Dungeon-based oneshot, written for a mission prompt for a group on another site.





	

A soft breeze blew across the tiny fields, whistling through the tall grass, carrying the dawn chorus past my ears, which flicked at the sound of the faint chirping. I slowed down a bit, rolling my shoulders and hugging a pair of potted plants closer to my chest – a few crumbs of loose dirt spilling out onto my blunted chestspike – before peering upwards at the morning sky, clouds hanging in the air. Warm, spring sunlight shined down, and the flowers I was carrying seemed to bloom even brighter.

"Ah, we're here! Right here, please!"

I jolted, blinking a couple times as my aura tassels bumped against my neck, then glanced over my shoulder when I heard a grunt of surprise. I sucked in a breath and promptly ducked out of the way of the large berry bush that was swishing towards me, watching the Samurott behind me swaying back and forth in an attempt to get his balance back. My tail wagged sharply when I caught a brief look at the water type's alert expression, and I quickly circled around, pushing at his side to keep him steady. "Careful there, Cyan! I've got you here."

"Ergh-!" Cyan grunted again, digging his hind legs into the grass, and he craned his neck to look at me, the horn on his helmet grazing the top of the bush he was carrying. He shot me a quick smile and a nod, his gratefulness quickly replaced by grumpy frustration. "Thanks, Bill. Arceus' sake, I can't see a darn thing w'this stuck in front o'my face! Where'd miss Maractus want us t'put these?"

I turned my head, spotting the green, cheery-faced Pokemon standing near the town walls, waving her arms and flower-dotted segments at the two of us. A row of holes had been dug near her feet, starting near a few other newly-planted shrubs and winding its way around the fence, until both the wooden posts and the holes turned the corner and vanished from sight. The corners of my mouth curled into a grin, and I let out a low whistle, nudging my friend with an elbow.

"Here, just follow my lead." I slowly, carefully, stepped forward, still leaning slightly against my teammate. The sea lion kept his eyes firmly trained on me, wobbling along as well. The wind blew between the plants and us, causing Cyan's mustache to whip around wildly. "I'll tell you when you can set it down."

Maractus continued to flag us down, jumping in place after a few minutes when she finally realized that Cyan couldn't see, and we eventually made it over to the grass type's side. I cocked my head at the sound of the village's early hustle and bustle, audible even outside the gates, while Maractus hopped over and helped us ease the potted plants down onto the ground. Cyan took a couple steps back and let out a tired sigh afterward, lifting his helmet up somewhat and rubbing at his forehead.

"That's not all of 'em you're wantin' t'plant, right?" He asked, looking around the rolling plains, then turning and staring back the way we had come, his eyes narrowing in confusion. "An' where th'heck did Erin go? Wasn't she supposed t'bring a flower over here too?"

"She passed it off to me," I replied, nudging the sea lion, then gesturing at the pair of plants that sat at my feet. "I think she was going to help Rose or something like that."

Cyan blinked, then replied with an impatient 'oh', sitting down and drumming his paws on the dirt, peering at Maractus after a few quiet moments. The cactus' head was just visible inside of one of the holes, and I cocked my head when I heard an occasional patting against the walls of dirt, furrowing my brow. I leaned over, watching as the grass type gave everything one last once-over.

She abruptly spun around and jumped up and out onto the grass again, and I started, stumbling backwards, glancing over my shoulder when I nearly tripped over my own footpaws. Cyan grabbed my shoulder before I could, and I shifted my weight to the tips of my pawpads, taking a deep breath and nodding gratefully at the younger explorer. Maractus spoke up all the while, completely unfazed. "It all looks ready for planting! And thank you so much again for coming along to help me with all this. It's really been needing to get done for quite a while now!"

"As long as y'don'get any Combee or Beedrill sniffin' 'round," Cyan remarked with a shrug, grabbing the edge of the potted berry bush and dragging it over to the edge of the hole, his front legs wrapped around the hardened clay. "So what are we doin' here, huh? Do we have t'dump this thing out o'th'pot first or should I jus' pick it up an' put it back down again?"

"Oh, no, neither of those!" Maractus hastily blurted out, hopping over to the opposite side of the berry bush as quickly as she could, and I followed after her, tail wagging, a grin worming its way onto my muzzle. Cyan stopped in his tracks, let out an annoyed sigh, and dragged the bush away a couple inches, gritting his teeth from the effort. I held my paws close, ready to catch it just in case. "The dirt is very packed together, so we need to pull the whole shrub out, set it inside, and then fill the gaps in. Just keep holding it the way you are- no, tilt it a little bit too!"

I eased myself backwards a bit as the Samurott angled the berry bush towards me... then slowed down when I saw Maractus wave an arm at me, wiggling her yellow fingers to get my attention. "Oh, mister Bill, grab the bush at the roots, please!"

"Alright-" I nodded, furrowing my brow and carefully reaching outward, feeling the leaves brush against my arms – sometimes getting pushed away by my pawspikes and then snapping into position again – until I found a hard, solid root that spread out in all directions. I wrapped my pawpads around it, guiding my other wrist over and holding on tightly, wearing a confident smile. "Got it!"

"Okay! Now pull! And mister Cyan, help me move this pot back and forth!" The cactus answered, then called out to my teammate, and the Samurott craned his neck to try and look past the berry bush at the sound of his name. I narrowed my eyes, and when I felt the leafy plant start to wiggle around, I tugged on the heavy stem, hearing bits of dirt and stone scraping against the hardened clay.

The grass tickled at my ankles as I dug the tips of my footpaws into the ground, flower buds and thin twigs tickling my arms each time I yanked at the heavy stem, and I took another deep breath, panting from the tension that ran through my muscles. Taking a larger step away, I bent my elbows and pulled, feeling the shrub graze my blunted chestspike, perking up when the dirt started to loosen somewhat.

Then the spring breeze turned strong, whooshing past my ears as it blew past the three of us, shaking the berry bush's branches and nearly sending a stray stick whipping into my face. I scrunched one eye shut, inhaled sharply, and then ducked my head. The leaves swatted my ears instead, and I sighed, flattening them against my skull.

"Keep at it, both of you!" Maractus cheered us on, and the plant jolted forward an inch, its pot having been shoved closer to the line of holes in the ground. I heard Cyan let out a 'whoop!' of surprise and stomp around somewhat, his hiking pack shuffling noisily. "Mister Cyan, don't do that, just ease it left and right like I am!"

"Alright, sorry, ma'am!" The sea lion replied shortly.

The berry bush, and the dirt its roots were firmly entrenched in, started to gently roll left and right, and I peered skyward to safely shake my head, flicking my wrists in the opposite directions to help them out further. That seemed to finally do the trick: the clump of soil started to slide out faster, and after taking a quick glance over my shoulder to see where I was going, I pulled at the base of the roots again, scuttling back. The weight of the shrub got lighter and lighter with each passing second.

"Hey, Biiiill, Cyaaan, why didn't you wait up for us? Oh, here, lemme help, lemme help!"

"Wh-" I didn't even have time to react before I heard the berry bush rustle, a pair of pink, furry sleeves draping over the top of the shrub as Erin took hold of it and pulled. I lost my balance, footpaws sweeping out from underneath me as the potted plant thudded onto the grass, sending a ripple up the stem – I let go of the base of the roots at the jarring sensation, still crouching even as I stumbled away. "Wo-woah, Erin-!"

I suddenly fell onto a cushion of long, fluffy somethings, a ticklish feeling brushing over my aura tassels, and I glanced sideways, letting out a hefty sigh of relief as I gazed gratefully into my partner's face, my muscles relaxing at the sight. The cream-furred fox smiled softly at me, her nine tails gently waving up and down, and I stood up, stretching my arms and legs out. As I checked myself over – tugging the straps of the treasure bag and giving a quick polish to our exploration team badge – Rose glanced over at Erin, a note of firmness playing in her voice. "Erin, could you please try to be a bit more careful?"

"Huh?" The Mienshao whirled around, her whiskers bouncing and belt pouch shaking from the motion. She gasped in surprise, then hopped over to me, sheepishly clasping her hands behind her back and looking up and down at me. "Oops! Are you okay, Bill? Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you!"

"Well, don't worry, because you didn't," I replied dryly, playfully sticking my tongue out at the younger explorer, and then reached over to Rose, grinning cheekily as I affectionately tousled the Ninetales' headfur. The fox closed her eyes and leaned into my touch, and I bent down and nuzzled her cheek before pulling away, looking over at Cyan and Maractus, who were turning the freed berry bush upright. "Everything look alright over there?"

"As far as I can tell, yeah!" Cyan barked in response, pumping a triumphant fist in the air. Erin's face broke into a pleased smile at her friend's shout, and she jumped, imitating her friend by throwing her sleeves high. Rose stepped up to my side, shaking a few strands of headfur back behind her ears.

"Yes, the bush doesn't seem damaged at all! You both did a good job helping to loosen all that dirt up!" Maractus affirmed, clapping her hands together, and Rose, Erin and I all ambled back over to the town walls, the bush still rustling in the wind. Erin hunched low, cocking her head this way and that, poking every so often at the scattered clumps of unripe fruits hanging from the branches. I folded my arms underneath my blunted chestspike, feeling the cool breeze ruffle my fur, the heat of the sun waning somewhat. Maractus patted the flower on her head, then put her arms on her hips, the cactus' gaze trained on the first empty hole in the ground. "Is everyone ready to plant?"

The four of us shared a mutual nod, and the grass type nodded in turn.

"Good!" She walked over to the side of the clod of dirt, awkwardly digging her fingers underneath, and she gestured at us to do the same. "Now first, I need all of you to help me pick it up, please... erf-!"

Rose was the first to move, trotting forward and pushing her nose against the shrub, tipping it ever-so-slightly to make an opening for us. I curled a paw into a quick thumbs-up, then walked up next to my partner and grabbed the base of the roots again, while Cyan and Erin both picked the plant up from the bottom. Slowly, we hoisted the berry bush into the air, and I smiled inwardly, forearms not feeling quite as stiff as before. It was a heck of a lot easier to move with everyone sharing the weight!

Maractus started to move away, wobbling closer and closer towards the edge of the village, and the four of us followed along, stepping sideways and forward and everything in-between as the tall, sturdy logs rose higher and higher above our heads. Cyan sidled around the shrub not long after we started walking, carefully eyeing the hole in the ground. A moment later, Rose pulled back, and I turned my head over my shoulder, then turned over my other shoulder, spotting the fire type as she jogged to our side, staying a few steps away to keep track of where we were going.

Soon enough, the cream-furred fox called out, her tails curling up and her ears flicking. "Okay!"

We all stopped in our tracks, and Maractus leaned heavily to the left, only to blurt out 'oh!' when she bumped her head against the town's walls. She giggled under her breath afterward, and then spoke up. "Thank you, miss Rose! Now all we have to do is lower it down!"

"Heehee, that sounds easy!" Erin giggled, rocking back and forth on her heels, resting her chin on top of the lump of packed dirt. "Ooh ooh, Rose, are we right there right now right now? Or do we still need to get a little closer first?"

"Hmm..." Rose lay flat in the grass, cocking her head in thought. "You could get a little closer, but you don't need to. Just sit the bush down until you hit the edge of the hole that's been dug, and you can go from there, right?"

"Alright. On the count of three," I said, and Cyan, Erin, and Maractus all looked at me, tightening their grip on the berry bush a little. I gave the base of the plant's stem a squeeze, tapping a stray branch with a pawspike in time with each number. "One, two, three!"

We let the berry bush drop, and I dug my pawpads into the stem when the shrub started to tip over and lean on the wall. I felt Cyan, then Erin, and then Maractus, all move their hands from the dirt to the stem along with me, helping me guide it a few inches closer until the ground completely vanished out from underneath it. Erin bounced in surprise at the sensation, the Mienshao gulping down a heavy breath, and Cyan grit his teeth, the leaves brushing and scratching his shell armor. Maractus just hummed a cheery tune to keep our nerves calm.

When we heard a dull thump of dirt hitting dirt, we all let out a sigh of relief, stepping back and looking at the bush, sitting steadily at the base of the town walls, leaves catching the sunlight and shining brightly. I brought a paw in front of my face as the wind shook the twigs around, sending a split-second glare into my eyes. Rose padded over and nuzzled my elbow, one of her tails wrapping around my own, and I winked right back at her, smiling happily.

"Well, thank you, everyone, that looks good! I can fill in the dirt for now," Maractus said breezily, hopping in a half-circle to face us all, the flower on her head shaking with each jump. "Why don't you start on those flowers next?"

We all slumped forward a little, still catching our breath, and Rose ducked her face into her blue scarf to hide a warm, quiet laugh.


End file.
